Local hip-hop artist will head to trial on drug charges

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 22/3/2013 (1357 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local hip-hop star Jon-C, a.k.a. Billy Pierson, will be going to trial in late April on drug charges.

Pierson was challenging the information Winnipeg Police used to obtain a search warrant that led to his arrest in 2008.

If Pierson was successful, the evidence would have been thrown out and the charges thrown out.

Justice Doug Abra ruled this afternoon that the information was properly obtained and all evidence seized can be admitted into trial.

Pierson was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The trial will continue April 22-24.

Pierson's lawyer Barry Sinder argued earlier this week the information police submitted to get a search warrant on a Church Avenue house where Pierson was arrested was insufficient.

He said police had targeted four people, including Pierson, for allegedly running a "reloader" house, a place where dial-a-dealer crack-cocaine sellers can reload on the drug and hit the streets again.

Sinder also argued police should have supplied more information to get the warrant, such as details on the police informant.